News

PAESTA President, Laura Guertin brings us her next installment in her PAESTA President's Podcasting Series. Be sure to listen to hear Laura's ideas on New Year's Resolutions for teachers! And please share yours below!

This month, we recognize Rebecca Newschaffer, 7th grade math teacher at AMY Northwest Middle School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nominated by one of her peers, “Rebecca has been teaching for over 20 years and she has been teaching in Philadelphia for the last 8 years. She is always interested in teaching integrated math and science units that require the use of real time data. She is especially excited about co-teaching the Weather and Climate unit because there is such a wealth of data that students can organize and make claims about.

Building stones and boulders used for decorative landscaping are always a welcomed site to the eyes of a geologist, especially when it is different than the predominant rock type of the region. In an area dominated by schist, these cross-bedded sandstones are a nice teaching tool to show students another rock type. However, it is also important to share with students that these non-local rocks came from a sandstone quarry owned by Russell Stone Products in central Pennsylvania, and were brought down to southeastern Pennsylvania.

PAESTA President, Laura Guertin brings us her next installment in her PAESTA President's Podcasting Series. Be sure to listen to hear Laura's excitement about the PAESTA Award for Teaching Excellence and the 30th PAESTAR!

The Captain Planet Foundation issued a call for applications for their small grant program to fund hands-on environmental projects that encourage youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their communities. 501(c)(3)nonprofit organizations, including schools, are encouraged to apply by January 31, 2015 with applications that are project-based, youth-driven, and have real environmental outcomes.

The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is accepting applications for the Edward C. Roy Award for Excellence in Earth Science Teaching. Given annually, this award is presented to one full-time K-8 teacher in the U.S. or U.K. whose excellence and innovation in the classroom elevates students' understanding of the Earth and its many processes.